Traditionally, longevity noodles are
either fried and served on a plate,

0:41:10

0:41:15

or boiled and served in a bowl
with their broth.

0:41:15

0:41:18

So the big moment has come.

0:41:19

0:41:21

The cooking of the giant noodle.

0:41:21

0:41:23

And, according to Mr Liu,

0:41:23

0:41:24

the amount of noodle that you put in
is dictated by the size of the bowl.

0:41:24

0:41:28

So guess how many centimetres
of noodle might go in that.

0:41:28

0:41:31

You are way off. It is four metres.

0:41:31

0:41:34

Got to find the end - that is the
tricky bit.

0:41:35

0:41:37

In it goes.

0:41:39

0:41:40

The longevity noodle is a metaphor
for the long walk of life.

0:41:42

0:41:46

At Chinese New Year, cutting the
noodle would mean bad luck.

0:41:46

0:41:49

So I'd better have a go at slurping
mine whole.

0:41:51

0:41:54

-Really?

-Hm.

0:41:58

0:41:59

OK, here goes.

0:41:59

0:42:01

This is a happy New Year slurp.

0:42:01

0:42:04

Back in Hong Kong,

0:42:11

0:42:12

there's still a few hours to go
before one of the world's biggest

0:42:12

0:42:15

pyrotechnic performances.

0:42:15

0:42:17

I am here at Victoria Harbour,

0:42:19

0:42:22

where the crowds have already
gathered for tonight's fireworks.

0:42:22

0:42:24

Now, the Chinese certainly know how
to put on an amazing display,

0:42:24

0:42:27

which is no coincidence when you
consider this country produces 90%
of the world's fireworks.

0:42:27

0:42:32

The fireworks for tonight's event
have been produced and shipped from
one particular part of China.

0:42:34

0:42:40

In Liuyang, every day starts with
a bang.

0:42:43

0:42:47

For the people here, a day without
detonations is a missed opportunity.

0:42:48

0:42:52

That is because Liuyang,

0:42:52

0:42:54

nestled in the lush green landscapes
of Hunan Province,

0:42:54

0:42:57

is China's biggest producer of
fireworks.

0:42:57

0:43:00

Over half the world's fireworks are
made right here in this region.

0:43:02

0:43:05

Fireworks is a way of life for the
people here.

0:43:07

0:43:10

One fifth of the population -
that is over 300,000 people -

0:43:10

0:43:13

work within the industry.

0:43:13

0:43:15

The tradition of firework-making in
Liuyang goes back more than 1,000
years.

0:43:16

0:43:21

A local monk called Li Tian
wanted to frighten off evil spirits,

0:43:21

0:43:26

so he filled pieces of bamboo
with gunpowder and blew them up,

0:43:26

0:43:29

creating the world's first
firecracker.

0:43:29

0:43:32

Today, Li Tian is still honoured
as the inventor of the fireworks,

0:43:34

0:43:38

with a Taoist temple devoted to
him in Liuyang.

0:43:38

0:43:41

You can see, there's three statues
here.

0:43:44

0:43:46

On the left, we have got Ts'ai Lun.
This is the guy that invented paper.

0:43:46

0:43:50

On the right, Sun Simiao. This is
the guy that many believe invented
gunpowder.

0:43:51

0:43:55

And in the middle we've got the main
man, Li Tian.

0:43:55

0:43:58

You can see he is holding that
little bamboo shoot.

0:43:58

0:44:01

This city owes so much to him, he is
held in great esteem.

0:44:01

0:44:04

It would be the equivalent of us
back in the UK having a temple or
shrine to Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

0:44:04

0:44:09

Ancestor worship is an important
part of Chinese culture,

0:44:11

0:44:15

so local firework makers come here
to pay their respects to this man,
who founded their industry.

0:44:15

0:44:20

The constant background of bangs
doesn't put them off venerating
Li Tian.

0:44:21

0:44:26

So what it's like living with
all those fireworks going off
like all the time?

0:44:26

0:44:30

These days, fireworks are a big
business,

0:44:50

0:44:53

and there are now over 800 fireworks
companies in the Liuyang area.

0:44:53

0:44:57

Dancing Fireworks is a 20-year-old
family-run company.

0:44:57

0:45:02

It now employs 1,600 people.

0:45:02

0:45:04

By far the most popular fireworks
the Dancing factory makes are
what is known as display shells.

0:45:07

0:45:12

These are for huge events like the
Beijing Olympics,
which Dancing supplied.

0:45:13

0:45:18

Display shells, like the ones in
this warehouse,

0:45:19

0:45:21

go up to 300 metres and explode into
massive starbursts,

0:45:21

0:45:25

and they are still largely made by
hand in factories like this.

0:45:25

0:45:29

The workers at Dancing produce an
extraordinary 2.7 million shells
a year.

0:45:30

0:45:35

That is one shell every 12 seconds.

0:45:35

0:45:37

Each shell is made of a dome of
compressed cardboard,

0:45:39

0:45:41

with a time display fuse stuck in
with string and glue.

0:45:41

0:45:44

The Dancing factory does not just
assemble fireworks.

0:45:46

0:45:49

It also comes up with new designs
for the global market.

0:45:49

0:45:53

One of the main components used to
make gunpowder is a chemical called
saltpetre.

0:45:55

0:45:59

Now, they used to get it
from bat droppings found in caves.

0:45:59

0:46:02

Nowadays, they make it
synthetically, but the principle is
about the same.

0:46:02

0:46:05

The science behind fireworks,
however, that has really evolved.

0:46:05

0:46:09

And I've been given special
permission to come here

0:46:09

0:46:11

to the factory development lab
to take a look.

0:46:11

0:46:14

This is the lead scientist here.
He is obsessed with pyrotechnics.

0:46:19

0:46:25

So if you could make any firework,
your ultimate dream firework,

0:46:27

0:46:31

what would it be?

0:46:31

0:46:32

He has agreed to share his secret
recipe for red fireworks with me.

0:46:38

0:46:42

So, what's it like, that moment
that you have designed something in
a laboratory here

0:46:42

0:46:47

and you get to see it explode
for first time?

0:46:47

0:46:50

What does it feel like?

0:46:50

0:46:51

It's magical, right?
You've got the best job ever.

0:46:57

0:47:00

I want to do this.
I want to make one myself.

0:47:00

0:47:03

All right, so mix it up.

0:47:09

0:47:11

I'll just pour that in there.

0:47:11

0:47:13

The mixture we've made is
carefully spooned into a tube.

0:47:13

0:47:16

Time to find out if the recipe has
worked.

0:47:17

0:47:20

So this is the fun bit.

0:47:20

0:47:21

This is the test facility,

0:47:21

0:47:23

where I get to set light to these
bad boys and watch them burn.

0:47:23

0:47:27

Now, hopefully, if we've got it
right, these are going to be red.

0:47:27

0:47:30

So, get that down there.

0:47:31

0:47:33

I've got a lighter.

0:47:33

0:47:35

Hit the lights.

0:47:39

0:47:41

This is it, moment of truth.

0:47:43

0:47:45

What's happening?

0:47:45

0:47:47

Wow!

0:47:47

0:47:48

It's red. This is it,
it's actually red!

0:47:48

0:47:51

This is fantastic. I am now
a bona fide fireworks maker.

0:47:51

0:47:54

Despite the joys of flashes
and bangs,

0:47:56

0:47:59

making fireworks is a highly
dangerous business.

0:47:59

0:48:01

And at Dancing, the most hazardous
job on the assembly line -

0:48:03

0:48:06

putting explosives
inside the shells -

0:48:06

0:48:09

takes place in a secluded area
cut into the hillside.

0:48:09

0:48:12

In such vulnerable conditions,

0:48:13

0:48:15

it is essential to prevent
electrical sparks.

0:48:15

0:48:18

As staff enter this area, they have
to touch this metal pole.

0:48:22

0:48:25

That is to prevent static.

0:48:25

0:48:27

That really works.

0:48:27

0:48:28

This area has a real calming feel
about it, and that is quite
deliberate,

0:48:29

0:48:33

because the job that these guys are
doing requires precision.

0:48:33

0:48:37

It has to be safe.

0:48:37

0:48:38

If they get it wrong, the outcome
could be catastrophic.

0:48:38

0:48:41

The technician carefully adds the
balls that will give the firework
its colour,

0:48:44

0:48:48

and the ingredient which makes it
explode,

0:48:48

0:48:51

rice kernels coated with flammable
compounds.

0:48:51

0:48:53

Once the shell is packed with
explosives, it is time to wrap it.

0:48:56

0:48:59

Different clients demand
a different finish.

0:49:01

0:49:04

The Americans like a machine wrap,

0:49:05

0:49:07

while the Japanese prefer theirs
handcrafted.

0:49:07

0:49:10

Everyone here is paid by the
firework, so they are very fast
workers.

0:49:12

0:49:16

So you are really quick. How many
do you get through a day?

0:49:16

0:49:19

The shells are left to dry before
being sent all over the world.

0:49:29

0:49:33

And here it is -
a finished firework.

0:49:35

0:49:38

Now, the factory has to make sure
that these definitely work,

0:49:38

0:49:41

and the only true way of doing that
is to let them off.

0:49:41

0:49:44

And it is nearly dark.

0:49:44

0:49:46

I'm joined by Dancing Factory's
general manager Eva Zhong
for an hour's

0:49:54

0:49:59

quality-control -
just a perk of her job.

0:49:59

0:50:02

Every evening, the hills of Liuyang
are alive with the sound
of fireworks

0:50:03

0:50:07

as each factory detonates its latest
designs.

0:50:07

0:50:10

Seeing your fireworks in the sky,
how does that make you feel?

0:50:14

0:50:17

I'm so proud.

0:50:17

0:50:19

It's my father's business,
and also, our family business.

0:50:19

0:50:23

We made it from nothing.

0:50:23

0:50:25

And then we light the night sky.

0:50:25

0:50:27

The fireworks for tonight's display
have been set up on the three barges

0:50:39

0:50:43

out there in the middle of the
harbour.

0:50:43

0:50:46

Now, the budget for this event
is a staggering £750,000,

0:50:46

0:50:51

and it takes months of planning and
preparation.

0:50:51

0:50:54

To find out a bit more, I went to
meet the brains behind the display,
Wilson Mao.

0:50:54

0:50:59

A beautiful early morning in Hong
Kong, and I am heading out to the
barge,

0:51:10

0:51:15

which is where Wilson and his crew
are working,

0:51:15

0:51:18

setting up all the fireworks
in preparation for the display.

0:51:18

0:51:22

It takes a week to load up the
barges with 4,500 kg of
highly-explosive pyrotechnics.

0:51:30

0:51:38

Wilson's mapped out a spectacular
show,

0:51:41

0:51:44

so he is making sure they are
positioned perfectly to go off at
the right place and time.

0:51:44

0:51:48

So those are the launch tubes,
so the actual explosives, the
fireworks, are stuffed in those?

0:51:51

0:51:57

-Yes.

-Right.

0:51:57

0:51:58

There is an electric match,

0:51:58

0:52:00

together with the shell.

0:52:00

0:52:01

When the electric match ignites,

0:52:01

0:52:03

the shell is going to propel from
the launch tube.

0:52:03

0:52:06

Isn't there any danger,
when you've got this much explosive
in one crate,

0:52:08

0:52:12

that one will go off and that will
somehow set off the rest of them?

0:52:12

0:52:17

We have very rare incidents like
what you said.

0:52:17

0:52:20

Although sometimes there may be some
fire burn on some wires.

0:52:20

0:52:25

-That may happen.

-Right.

0:52:25

0:52:26

Millions will be watching around the
harbour and across the nation on TV,

0:52:29

0:52:33

so Wilson's devised
an ambitious firework to celebrate
the incoming year.

0:52:33

0:52:38

We have 60 monkey faces in the show.

0:52:40

0:52:42

For the Year Of The Monkey?

0:52:42

0:52:44

For the Year Of The Monkey,
that's right.

0:52:44

0:52:46

We have the monkeys.

0:52:47

0:52:49

Oh, look at them!

0:52:49

0:52:51

He has spent months timing and
testing his monkey face design.

0:52:51

0:52:54

Wow!

0:52:58

0:52:59

But for now, the show exists only in
his imagination and this computer
simulation.

0:52:59

0:53:05

It's still an
unpredictable art,

0:53:05

0:53:08

and there is so much he just can't
control.

0:53:08

0:53:12

Sometimes, the 2-D effect
doesn't turn out to be facing
to the audience.

0:53:12

0:53:18

Because the shell is spinning
in very, very high speed.

0:53:18

0:53:23

If it bursts like this,

0:53:23

0:53:25

you will see the monkey face.

0:53:25

0:53:27

But if it turns out like this, if it
bursts like this, you see a line.

0:53:27

0:53:32

You won't see the face.

0:53:32

0:53:34

So you might just get a completely
different view?

0:53:34

0:53:36

Oh, yeah. We can't do any kind of
rehearsal.

0:53:36

0:53:39

That 23 minutes is the moment of
truth.

0:53:39

0:53:42

-ANT:

-Well, night has fallen,
and there's now over 150,000 people

0:53:46

0:53:51

cramming every viewpoint around Hong
Kong's Victoria Harbour.

0:53:51

0:53:56

The barges carrying Wilson's monkey
face fireworks are over there,
in position.

0:54:03

0:54:08

You couldn't hope for a more
spectacular setting.

0:54:11

0:54:14

Hong Kong really comes alive
at night.

0:54:16

0:54:18

Look at that - that is the perfect
backdrop for tonight's fireworks.

0:54:18

0:54:20

It is looking absolutely fantastic,
and better still,

0:54:20

0:54:24

the conditions tonight are exactly
the way that Wilson hoped they would
be - humidity's low,

0:54:24

0:54:29

it is a dry night, little bit of
wind to dispel the smoke.

0:54:29

0:54:32

I think we are going to be in for a
tremendous treat,

0:54:32

0:54:35

and it's going to start
any moment now.

0:54:35

0:54:38

There they go!

0:54:46

0:54:48

Whoo-hoo!

0:54:48

0:54:50

Oh, my goodness!

0:54:51

0:54:53

On the other side, there is another
whole crowd of people,

0:55:02

0:55:06

and there's just
this kind of constant winking
of cameras going off.

0:55:06

0:55:10

It's the monkeys.

0:55:18

0:55:20

These are the monkeys now.

0:55:20

0:55:22

There they go.

0:55:22

0:55:23

Woo!

0:55:23

0:55:25

The red bursts are the monkey faces.

0:55:25

0:55:27

Like Wilson said, quite a few
are side-on to us.

0:55:27

0:55:31

But that's good news for the crowd
over there.

0:55:31

0:55:34

Do you know what, months and months
of work,

0:55:34

0:55:36

-and it all goes up in a moment.

-I know.

0:55:36

0:55:38

-I know.

-What do you reckon Wilson
is feeling right now?

0:55:38

0:55:40

He is just so cool and calm,
isn't he?

0:55:40

0:55:44

He is just like "Yeah, I have done
it."

0:55:44

0:55:46

-"I've done it."

-"I've done it again."

0:55:46

0:55:48

-Oh, my God!

-Wow!

0:55:49

0:55:52

Oh!

0:55:56

0:55:57

That was bonkers. I'm speechless.

0:55:57

0:56:01

That was absolutely extraordinary.

0:56:02

0:56:05

And what a fitting end to what has
been an extraordinary insight into
the traditions

0:56:05

0:56:10

that go to making truly the
greatest celebration on Earth.

0:56:10

0:56:15

Wow. We're pulling it out.

0:56:20

0:56:22

-We're pulling it out.

-It's like watching a magic trick.

0:56:22

0:56:26

-Wow!

-This is TV on a huge scale.

0:56:26

0:56:29

And it's extraordinary.

0:56:29

0:56:31

And here it is in all
its frosty glory.

0:56:35

0:56:37

We began our journey in the ice city
of Harbin...

0:56:40

0:56:45

Witness the spectacular
transformation that happens when
darkness falls...

0:56:45

0:56:51

We followed millions of people on
the move heading home to their
families...

0:56:56

0:57:02

Oh, that is so sad,
it makes me cry.

0:57:02

0:57:05

Look at you!

0:57:12

0:57:14

Hotpot?

0:57:17

0:57:18

And we've gone behind the scenes at
this immense festival as no-one has
done before.

0:57:22

0:57:26

They are about to do the performance
of a lifetime.

0:57:30

0:57:33

I'm not keeping up at all!

0:57:33

0:57:35

We have loved being able to enjoy
the celebration with people all over
China.

0:57:39

0:57:45

They need to be the same length?

0:57:45

0:57:46

Xin nian kuai le!

0:57:48

0:57:51

Stretches?

0:57:51

0:57:53

Oh, my God.

0:57:54

0:57:55

-Cheers! Yes.

-Thank you.

0:57:57

0:58:00

Discovering a little bit of what it
is to live in this enormous country
as it enters the Year Of The Monkey.

0:58:01

0:58:08

Oh, my goodness!

0:58:09

0:58:11

Happy New Year!

0:58:14

0:58:17

Real sense of joy.

0:58:17

0:58:19

Woohoo!

0:58:22

0:58:23

It has been a real privilege.

0:58:32

0:58:34

It has been fantastic.

0:58:34

0:58:36

And all that's left from us to say
is Happy Chinese New Year.

0:58:36

0:58:39

From Ant and me in Hong Kong,
have a very good night.

0:58:39

0:58:42

Kate Humble and Ant Anstead present the final programme from Hong Kong, looking at what happens right after New Year. This great port city is a strange mix of ultra-modern and traditional. Kate trains with a top dragon-dancing troupe and discovers that not only is it a highly demanding kung fu-based art, it is also taken very seriously as Hong Kong people sincerely embrace the tradition of lucky lions and dragons at New Year.

Meanwhile, the Hairy Bikers are in Beijing at the Temple Fair, where they explore a tradition from imperial China of the emperor starting the new year by renewing his mandate of heaven.

Ant heads to China's frozen north east to Chagan Lake to discover the ancient art of fishing beneath the thick frozen surface. It is an extraordinary scene as the fishermen use centuries-old techniques to catch fish, a key part of any New Year's banquet.

The culmination of the series is all about fireworks. Their loud bangs are believed to ward off evil spirits at this time of year. Ant goes to Liuyang, the city that produces nearly all of China's fireworks and many of those used in displays in British skies too. They even have a temple here to the inventor of fireworks, where workers still pay homage to the monk Li Tian, who started it all. And back in Hong Kong, we experience one of the most extraordinary fireworks displays on the planet as millions of Hong Kong dollars' worth go off in a blaze of light and colour over the famous harbour.